A Couple of Cooks

Food. We all need it to survive. It’s up to us to choose the quality and quantity we consume. My husband and I hope to share with the interested few our fondness for home cooking and eating in the form of this BLOG.

About US

Admittedly, I am a bad shopper. Or at least I have always claimed to be or felt like I was…. Until recently! In the past, I found little or no pleasure in shopping. I always felt exhausted and fat after a day at the mall, and never seemed to have any luck with my online clothing and shoe purchases. My residence in downtown Baltimore, a retail desert, has only compounded this condition.
Motherhood has changed that for me. Shopping is fun! I love buying new things (most of which are by necessity) for my little one and little one on the way and after two pregnancies, mommy’s style is pretty hurting these days. I’m in the market for a new look both at home and in the office.
Dollars are limited, as they are in most households with children, and so I’m always looking for a deal. And now I have discovered a secret…. After a year of or more of self deprivation to save a few dollars here and there, necessity has driven me to the stores and I just found out that you have to spend money, to save money! What a concept! Customer rewards, points, coupons, and sales abound! Again, I’m just getting started. Join me on my quest for retail therapy and to both shop and save!!!

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Johnnycakes is on quite a roll lately concocting various spice blends. Spice collection seems to be his new hobby. He lent his new talent for blending delicious flavors to our dinner this evening.We had a few eggplants left over from a recent trip to the Baltimore City Farmers Market. We are sort of tired of eggplant Parmesan, despite having a good recipe for making the classic Italian fare, and decided to think of other recipes we could try.We decided on Baba Ghanoush and an eastern rub on the chicken and began to compile the necessary ingredients. Johnnycakes grilled the eggplants (another new hobby) until they browned and softened. We then baked the eggplants until completely cooked and skinned the blackened vegetables. We mixed the eggplant with tahini paste, lemon, garlic and cumin until we liked the taste. A garnish of chopped flat leaf parsley and a sprinkle of olive oil completed the mixture.We served the Baba Ghanoush with chicken, flavored with garlic, cardamom, ground coriander, cinnamon and cumin, and grilled onions and pepper, pita bread and basmati rice.We generally have not been going to these great lengths on weeknights in the past several months but we seemed to have the motivation tonight. We didn't end up eating until after 8 p.m.! Well, at least we ate a great meal and have our lunches packed for tomorrow.

do you degorge your eggplant first? If not, it's a great tip! It will take the bitterness out. Salt the raw slices of eggplant on both sides and let stand for 15 minutes. Rinse, then grill. I promise you won't be disappointed! It takes eggplant to a new level!

Wonderful blog! I definitely love how it’s easy on my eyes and also the data are well written. I am wondering how I might be notified whenever a new post has been made. I have subscribed to your rss feed which need to do the trick! Have a nice day!